DNA encoding antibody molecules which bind IL-17A and IL-17F

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to antibody molecules having specificity for antigenic determinants of both IL-17A and IL-17F, therapeutic uses of the antibody molecules and methods for producing said antibody molecules.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/348,456filed Jan. 11, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,580,265; which claims priorityto U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/432,814 filed Jan. 14, 2011,which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The present invention relates to antibody molecules having specificityfor antigenic determinants of both IL-17A and IL-17F. The presentinvention also relates to the therapeutic uses of the antibody moleculesand methods for producing them.

IL-17A (originally named CTLA-8 and also known as IL-17) is aproinflammatory cytokine and the founder member of the IL-17 family(Rouvier et al. 1993, J. Immunol. 150: 5445-5456). Subsequently fiveadditional members of the family have been identified (IL-17B-IL-17F)including the most closely related, IL-17F (ML-1) which sharesapproximately 55% amino acid sequence homology with IL-17A (Moseley etal., 2003, Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. 14: 155-174). IL-17A and IL-17Fare expressed by the recently defined autoimmune related subset of Thelper cells, Th17, that also express IL-21 and IL-22 signaturecytokines (Korn et al., 2009, Annu. Rev. Immunol. 27:485-517: 485-517).IL-17A and IL-17F are expressed as homodimers, but may also be expressedas the IL-17A/F heterodimer (Wright et al. 2008, J. Immunol. 181:2799-2805). IL-17A and F signal through the receptors IL-17R, IL-17RC oran IL-17RA/RC receptor complex (Gaffen 2008, Cytokine. 43: 402-407).Both IL-17A and IL-17F have been associated with a number of autoimmunediseases.

Accordingly dual antagonists of IL-17A and IL-17F may be more effectivethan a sole antagonist in treating IL-17 mediated diseases. Antibodieswhich bind IL-17A and IL-17F have been described in WO2007/106769,WO2008/047134, WO2009/136286 and WO2010/025400.

The present invention provides an improved neutralising antibody whichis capable of binding to both IL-17A and IL-17F with high affinity. Inparticular, the antibody of the present invention is capable ofspecifically binding to both IL-17A and IL-17F i.e. the antibody doesnot bind to other isoforms of IL-17. Preferably the antibody of thepresent invention also binds the IL-17A/IL-17F heterodimer. Preferably,the antibody of the present invention neutralises the activity of bothIL-17A and IL-17F. In one embodiment the antibody of the presentinvention also neutralises the activity of the IL-17A/IL-17Fheterodimer. The antibodies of the present invention therefore have theadvantageous property that they can inhibit the biological activity ofboth IL-17A and IL-17F. Accordingly, the present invention also providesthe use of such antibodies in the treatment of and/or prophylaxis of adisease mediated by either or both of IL-17A or IL-17F such asautoimmune or inflammatory disease or cancer.

As used herein, the term ‘neutralising antibody’ describes an antibodythat is capable of neutralising the biological signalling activity ofboth IL-17A and IL17F for example by blocking binding of IL-17A andIL17F to one or more of their receptors and by blocking binding of theIL-17A/IL-17F heterodimer to one or more of its receptors. It will beappreciated that the term ‘neutralising’ as used herein refers to areduction in biological signalling activity which may be partial orcomplete. Further, it will be appreciated that the extent ofneutralisation of IL-17A and IL-17F activity by the antibody may be thesame or different. In one embodiment the extent of neutralisation of theactivity of the IL-17A/IL-17F heterodimer may be the same or differentas the extent of neutralisation of IL-17A or IL-17F activity.

In one embodiment the antibodies of the present invention specificallybind to IL-17A and IL-17F. Specifically binding means that theantibodies have a greater affinity for IL-17A and IL-17F polypeptides(including the IL-17A/IL-17F heterodimer) than for other polypeptides.Preferably the IL-17A and IL-17F polypeptides are human. In oneembodiment the antibody also binds cynomolgus IL-17A and IL-17F.

IL-17A or IL-17F polypeptides or a mixture of the two or cellsexpressing one or both of said polypeptides can be used to produceantibodies which specifically recognise both polypeptides. The IL-17polypeptides (IL-17A and IL-17F) may be ‘mature’ polypeptides orbiologically active fragments or derivatives thereof which preferablyinclude the receptor binding site. Preferably the IL-17 polypeptides arethe mature polypeptides. IL-17 polypeptides may be prepared by processeswell known in the art from genetically engineered host cells comprisingexpression systems or they may be recovered from natural biologicalsources. In the present application, the term “polypeptides” includespeptides, polypeptides and proteins. These are used interchangeablyunless otherwise specified. The IL-17 polypeptide may in some instancesbe part of a larger protein such as a fusion protein for example fusedto an affinity tag. Antibodies generated against these polypeptides maybe obtained, where immunisation of an animal is necessary, byadministering the polypeptides to an animal, preferably a non-humananimal, using well-known and routine protocols, see for example Handbookof Experimental Immunology, D. M. Weir (ed.), Vol 4, BlackwellScientific Publishers, Oxford, England, 1986). Many warm-bloodedanimals, such as rabbits, mice, rats, sheep, cows or pigs may beimmunized. However, mice, rabbits, pigs and rats are generallypreferred.

Antibodies for use in the present invention include whole antibodies andfunctionally active fragments or derivatives thereof and may be, but arenot limited to, monoclonal, multi-valent, multi-specific, bispecific,humanized or chimeric antibodies, domain antibodies e.g. VH, VL, VHH,single chain antibodies, Fv, Fab fragments, Fab′ and F(ab′)₂ fragmentsand epitope-binding fragments of any of the above. Other antibodyfragments include those described in International patent applicationsWO2005003169, WO2005003170 and WO2005003171. Other antibody fragmentsinclude Fab-Fv and Fab-dsFv fragments described in WO2009040562 andWO2010035012 respectively. Antibody fragments and methods of producingthem are well known in the art, see for example Verma et al., 1998,Journal of Immunological Methods, 216, 165-181; Adair and Lawson, 2005.Therapeutic antibodies. Drug Design Reviews—Online 2(3):209-217.

Antibodies for use in the present invention include immunoglobulinmolecules and immunologically active portions of immunoglobulinmolecules, i.e. molecules that contain an antigen binding site thatspecifically binds an antigen. The immunoglobulin molecules of theinvention can be of any class (e.g. IgG, IgE, IgM, IgD and IgA) orsubclass of immunoglobulin molecule.

Monoclonal antibodies may be prepared by any method known in the artsuch as the hybridoma technique (Kohler & Milstein, 1975, Nature,256:495-497), the trioma technique, the human B-cell hybridoma technique(Kozbor et al., 1983, Immunology Today, 4:72) and the EBV-hybridomatechnique (Cole et al., Monoclonal Antibodies and Cancer Therapy, pp.77-96, Alan R Liss, Inc., 1985).

Antibodies for use in the invention may also be generated using singlelymphocyte antibody methods by cloning and expressing immunoglobulinvariable region cDNAs generated from single lymphocytes selected for theproduction of specific antibodies by for example the methods describedby Babcook, J. et al., 1996, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA93(15):7843-78481; WO92/02551; WO2004/051268 and International PatentApplication number WO2004/106377.

Humanized antibodies are antibody molecules from non-human specieshaving one or more complementarity determining regions (CDRs) from thenon-human species and a framework region from a human immunoglobulinmolecule (see, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,089; WO91/09967).

Chimeric antibodies are those antibodies encoded by immunoglobulin genesthat have been genetically engineered so that the light and heavy chaingenes are composed of immunoglobulin gene segments belonging todifferent species. These chimeric antibodies are likely to be lessantigenic.

Bivalent antibodies may be made by methods known in the art (Milstein etal., 1983, Nature 305:537-539; WO 93/08829, Traunecker et al., 1991,EMBO J. 10:3655-3659). Multi-valent antibodies may comprise multiplespecificities or may be monospecific (see for example WO 92/22853 andWO05/113605).

The antibodies for use in the present invention can also be generatedusing various phage display methods known in the art and include thosedisclosed by Brinkman et al. (in J. Immunol. Methods, 1995, 182: 41-50),Ames et al. (J. Immunol. Methods, 1995, 184:177-186), Kettleborough etal. (Eur. J. Immunol. 1994, 24:952-958), Persic et al. (Gene, 1997 1879-18), Burton et al. (Advances in Immunology, 1994, 57:191-280) and WO90/02809; WO 91/10737; WO 92/01047; WO 92/18619; WO 93/11236; WO95/15982; WO 95/20401; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,698,426; 5,223,409;5,403,484; 5,580,717; 5,427,908; 5,750,753; 5,821,047; 5,571,698;5,427,908; 5,516,637; 5,780,225; 5,658,727; 5,733,743 and 5,969,108.Techniques for the production of single chain antibodies, such as thosedescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,778 can also be adapted to producesingle chain antibodies which bind to IL-17A and IL-17F. Also,transgenic mice, or other organisms, including other mammals, may beused to express humanized antibodies.

Screening for antibodies can be performed using assays to measurebinding to human IL-17A and human IL-17F, for example BIAcore™ assaysdescribed in the Examples herein. Suitable neutralisation assays areknown in the art, see for example WO2008/047134 and the Examples herein.

The residues in antibody variable domains are conventionally numberedaccording to a system devised by Kabat et al. This system is set forthin Kabat et al., 1987, in Sequences of Proteins of ImmunologicalInterest, US Department of Health and Human Services, NIH, USA(hereafter “Kabat et al. (supra)”). This numbering system is used in thepresent specification except where otherwise indicated.

The Kabat residue designations do not always correspond directly withthe linear numbering of the amino acid residues. The actual linear aminoacid sequence may contain fewer or additional amino acids than in thestrict Kabat numbering corresponding to a shortening of, or insertioninto, a structural component, whether framework or complementaritydetermining region (CDR), of the basic variable domain structure. Thecorrect Kabat numbering of residues may be determined for a givenantibody by alignment of residues of homology in the sequence of theantibody with a “standard” Kabat numbered sequence.

The CDRs of the heavy chain variable domain are located at residues31-35 (CDR-H1), residues 50-65 (CDR-H2) and residues 95-102 (CDR-H3)according to the Kabat numbering system. However, according to Chothia(Chothia, C. and Lesk, A. M. J. Mol. Biol., 196, 901-917 (1987)), theloop equivalent to CDR-H1 extends from residue 26 to residue 32. Thus‘CDR-H1’, as used herein, comprises residues 26 to 35, as described by acombination of the Kabat numbering system and Chothia's topological loopdefinition.

The CDRs of the light chain variable domain are located at residues24-34 (CDR-L1), residues 50-56 (CDR-L2) and residues 89-97 (CDR-L3)according to the Kabat numbering system.

In one embodiment the present invention provides a neutralising antibodyhaving specificity for human IL-17A and human IL-17F, comprising a lightchain, wherein the variable domain of the light chain comprises thesequence given in SEQ ID NO:4 for CDR-L1, the sequence given in SEQ IDNO:5 for CDR-L2 and the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:6 for CDR-L3 (SeeFIG. 1 c).

The antibody molecules of the present invention preferably comprise acomplementary heavy chain.

Accordingly, in one embodiment the present invention provides aneutralising antibody having specificity for human IL-17A and humanIL-17F, further comprising a heavy chain, wherein the variable domain ofthe heavy chain comprises at least one of a CDR having the sequencegiven in SEQ ID NO:1 for CDR-H1, a CDR having the sequence given in SEQID NO:2 for CDR-H2 and a CDR having the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:3for CDR-H3 (See FIG. 1 c).

In another embodiment the present invention provides a neutralisingantibody having specificity for human IL-17A and human IL-17F,comprising a heavy chain, wherein at least two of CDR-H1, CDR-H2 andCDR-H3 of the variable domain of the heavy chain are selected from thefollowing: the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:1 for CDR-H1, the sequencegiven in SEQ ID NO:2 for CDR-H2 and the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:3for CDR-H3. For example, the antibody may comprise a heavy chain whereinCDR-H1 has the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:1 and CDR-H2 has the sequencegiven in SEQ ID NO:2. Alternatively, the antibody may comprise a heavychain wherein CDR-H1 has the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:1 and CDR-H3has the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:3, or the antibody may comprise aheavy chain wherein CDR-H2 has the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:2 andCDR-H3 has the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:3. For the avoidance ofdoubt, it is understood that all permutations are included.

In another embodiment the present invention provides a neutralisingantibody having specificity for human IL-17A and human IL-17F,comprising a heavy chain, wherein the variable domain of the heavy chaincomprises the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:1 for CDR-H1, the sequencegiven in SEQ ID NO:2 for CDR-H2 and the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:3for CDR-H3.

In one embodiment, an antibody according to the present inventioncomprises a heavy chain, wherein the variable domain of the heavy chaincomprises the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:1 for CDR-H1, the sequencegiven in SEQ ID NO:2 for CDR-H2 and the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:3for CDR-H3 and a light chain wherein the variable domain of the lightchain comprises the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:4 for CDR-L1, thesequence given in SEQ ID NO:5 for CDR-L2 and the sequence given in SEQID NO:6 for CDR-L3.

In one embodiment the antibody provided by the present invention is amonoclonal antibody.

In one embodiment the antibody provided by the present invention is aCDR-grafted antibody molecule comprising each of the CDRs provided inSEQ ID NOS:1 to 6. As used herein, the term ‘CDR-grafted antibodymolecule’ refers to an antibody molecule wherein the heavy and/or lightchain contains one or more CDRs (including, if desired, one or moremodified CDRs) from a donor antibody (e.g. a murine monoclonal antibody)grafted into a heavy and/or light chain variable region framework of anacceptor antibody (e.g. a human antibody). For a review, see Vaughan etal, Nature Biotechnology, 16, 535-539, 1998. In one embodiment ratherthan the entire CDR being transferred, only one or more of thespecificity determining residues from any one of the CDRs describedherein above are transferred to the human antibody framework (see forexample, Kashmiri et al., 2005, Methods, 36, 25-34). In one embodimentonly the specificity determining residues from one or more of the CDRsdescribed herein above are transferred to the human antibody framework.In another embodiment only the specificity determining residues fromeach of the CDRs described herein above are transferred to the humanantibody framework.

When the CDRs or specificity determining residues are grafted, anyappropriate acceptor variable region framework sequence may be usedhaving regard to the class/type of the donor antibody from which theCDRs are derived, including mouse, primate and human framework regions.Preferably, the CDR-grafted antibody according to the present inventionhas a variable domain comprising human acceptor framework regions aswell as one or more of the CDRs or specificity determining residuesdescribed above. Thus, provided in one embodiment is a neutralisingCDR-grafted antibody wherein the variable domain comprises humanacceptor framework regions and non-human donor CDRs.

Examples of human frameworks which can be used in the present inventionare KOL, NEWM, REI, EU, TUR, TEI, LAY and POM (Kabat et al., supra). Forexample, KOL and NEWM can be used for the heavy chain, REI can be usedfor the light chain and EU, LAY and POM can be used for both the heavychain and the light chain. Alternatively, human germline sequences maybe used; these are available at: http://vbase.mrc-cpe.cam.ac.uk/

In a CDR-grafted antibody of the present invention, the acceptor heavyand light chains do not necessarily need to be derived from the sameantibody and may, if desired, comprise composite chains having frameworkregions derived from different chains.

The preferred framework region for the heavy chain of the CDR-graftedantibody of the present invention is derived from the human sub-groupVH3 sequence 1-3 3-07 together with JH4, as previously described inWO2008/047134. Accordingly, provided is a neutralising CDR-graftedantibody comprising at least one non-human donor CDR wherein the heavychain framework region is derived from the human subgroup sequence 1-33-07 together with JH4. The sequence of human JH4 is as follows:(YFDY)WGQGTLVTVSS. The YFDY motif is part of CDR-H3 and is not part offramework 4 (Ravetch, J V. et al., 1981, Cell, 27, 583-591).

The preferred framework region for the light chain of the CDR-graftedantibody of the present invention is derived from the human germlinesub-group VK1 sequence 2-1-(1) L4 together with JK1, as previouslydescribed in WO2008/047134. Accordingly, provided is a neutralisingCDR-grafted antibody comprising at least one non-human donor CDR whereinthe light chain framework region is derived from the human subgroupsequence VK1 2-1-(1) L4 together with JK1. The JK1 sequence is asfollows: (WT)FGQGTKVEIK. The WT motif is part of CDR-L3 and is not partof framework 4 (Hieter, P A., et al., 1982, J. Biol. Chem., 257,1516-1522).

Also, in a CDR-grafted antibody of the present invention, the frameworkregions need not have exactly the same sequence as those of the acceptorantibody. For instance, unusual residues may be changed to morefrequently-occurring residues for that acceptor chain class or type.Alternatively, selected residues in the acceptor framework regions maybe changed so that they correspond to the residue found at the sameposition in the donor antibody (see Reichmann et al., 1998, Nature, 332,323-324). Such changes should be kept to the minimum necessary torecover the affinity of the donor antibody. A protocol for selectingresidues in the acceptor framework regions which may need to be changedis set forth in WO 91/09967.

Preferably, in a CDR-grafted antibody molecule of the present invention,if the acceptor heavy chain has the human VH3 sequence 1-3 3-07 togetherwith JH4, then the acceptor framework regions of the heavy chaincomprise, in addition to one or more donor CDRs, a donor residue at atleast position 94 (according to Kabat et al., (supra)). Accordingly,provided is a CDR-grafted antibody, wherein at least the residue atposition 94 of the variable domain of the heavy chain is a donorresidue.

Preferably, in a CDR-grafted antibody molecule according to the presentinvention, if the acceptor light chain has the human sub-group VK1sequence 2-1-(1) L4 together with JK1, then no donor residues aretransferred i.e. only the CDRs are transferred. Accordingly, provided isa CDR-grafted antibody wherein only the CDRs are transferred to thedonor framework.

Donor residues are residues from the donor antibody, i.e. the antibodyfrom which the CDRs were originally derived.

In the present invention the antibody known as CA028_(—)0496 (previouslydescribed in WO2008/047134) was improved by changing five residues inthe light chain. Three residues were in the CDRs and two in theframework. Accordingly in one embodiment the light chain variable domaincomprises an arginine residue at position 30, a serine residue atposition 54, an isoleucine residue at position 56, an aspartic acidresidue at position 60 and an arginine residue at position 72.

Accordingly, in one embodiment, an antibody of the present inventioncomprises a light chain, wherein the variable domain of the light chaincomprises the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:7 (gL7).

In another embodiment, an antibody of the present invention comprises alight chain, wherein the variable domain of the light chain comprises asequence having at least 96% identity to the sequence given in SEQ IDNO:7. In one embodiment the antibody of the present invention comprisesa light chain, wherein the variable domain of the light chain comprisesa sequence having at least 97, 98 or 99% identity to the sequence givenin SEQ ID NO:7.

In one embodiment, an antibody of the present invention comprises aheavy chain, wherein the variable domain of the heavy chain comprisesthe sequence given in SEQ ID NO:9 (gH9).

In another embodiment, an antibody of the present invention comprises aheavy chain, wherein the variable domain of the heavy chain comprises asequence having at least 60% identity or similarity to the sequencegiven in SEQ ID NO:9. In one embodiment, an antibody of the presentinvention comprises a heavy chain, wherein the variable domain of theheavy chain comprises a sequence having at least 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 96,97, 98 or 99% identity or similarity to the sequence given in SEQ IDNO:9.

In one embodiment an antibody of the present invention comprises a heavychain, wherein the variable domain of the heavy chain comprises thesequence given in SEQ ID NO:9 and a light chain, wherein the variabledomain of the light chain comprises the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:7.

In another embodiment of the invention, the antibody comprises a heavychain and a light chain, wherein the variable domain of the heavy chaincomprises a sequence having at least 60% identity or similarity to thesequence given in SEQ ID NO:9 and the variable domain of the light chaincomprises a sequence having at least 96% identity to the sequence givenin SEQ ID NO:7. Preferably, the antibody comprises a heavy chain,wherein the variable domain of the heavy chain comprises a sequencehaving at least 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98 or 99% identity orsimilarity to the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:9 and a light chain,wherein the variable domain of the light chain comprises a sequencehaving at least 96, 97, 98 or 99% identity to the sequence given in SEQID NO:7.

“Identity”, as used herein, indicates that at any particular position inthe aligned sequences, the amino acid residue is identical between thesequences. “Similarity”, as used herein, indicates that, at anyparticular position in the aligned sequences, the amino acid residue isof a similar type between the sequences. For example, leucine may besubstituted for isoleucine or valine. Other amino acids which can oftenbe substituted for one another include but are not limited to:

-   -   phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan (amino acids having        aromatic side chains);    -   lysine, arginine and histidine (amino acids having basic side        chains);    -   aspartate and glutamate (amino acids having acidic side chains);    -   asparagine and glutamine (amino acids having amide side chains);        and    -   cysteine and methionine (amino acids having sulphur-containing        side chains). Degrees of identity and similarity can be readily        calculated (Computational Molecular Biology, Lesk, A. M., ed.,        Oxford University Press, New York, 1988; Biocomputing.        Informatics and Genome Projects, Smith, D. W., ed., Academic        Press, New York, 1993; Computer Analysis of Sequence Data, Part        1, Griffin, A. M., and Griffin, H. G., eds., Humana Press, New        Jersey, 1994; Sequence Analysis in Molecular Biology, von        Heinje, G., Academic Press, 1987; and Sequence Analysis Primer,        Gribskov, M. and Devereux, J., eds., M Stockton Press, New York,        1991).

The antibody molecule of the present invention may comprise a completeantibody molecule having full length heavy and light chains or afragment thereof, such as a domain antibody e.g. VH, VL, VHH, Fab,modified Fab, Fab′, F(ab′)₂, Fv or scFv fragment. Other antibodyfragments include Fab-Fv and Fab-dsFv fragments described inWO2009040562 and WO2010035012 respectively. In one embodiment theantibody fragment of the present invention is selected from the groupconsisting of a Fab, Fab′, F(ab′)₂, scFv and Fv fragment.

It will be appreciated that the antibodies of the present invention, inparticular the antibody fragments described above, may be incorporatedinto other antibody formats, in particular, multi-specific antibodies,such as bi or tri specific antibodies, where one specificity is providedby an antibody of the present invention i.e specificity for IL-17A andIL-17F (including IL-17A/F heterodimer). Accordingly, in one embodimentthe present invention provides a multi-specific antibody comprising oneor more of the antibody fragments described herein above.

Examples of multi-specific antibodies include bi, tri or tetra-valentantibodies, Bis-scFv, diabodies, triabodies, tetrabodies, bibodies andtribodies (see for example Holliger and Hudson, 2005, Nature Biotech23(9): 1126-1136; Schoonjans et al.2001, Biomolecular Engineering, 17(6), 193-202). Other multi-specific antibodies include Fab-Fv, Fab-dsFv,Fab-Fv-Fv. Fab-Fv-Fc and Fab-dsFv-PEG fragments described inWO2009040562, WO2010035012, WO2011/08609, WO2011/030107 andWO2011/061492 respectively.

The constant region domains of the antibody molecule of the presentinvention, if present, may be selected having regard to the proposedfunction of the antibody molecule, and in particular the effectorfunctions which may be required. For example, the constant regiondomains may be human IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG or IgM domains. In particular,human IgG constant region domains may be used, especially of the IgG1and IgG3 isotypes when the antibody molecule is intended for therapeuticuses and antibody effector functions are required. Alternatively, IgG2and IgG4 isotypes may be used when the antibody molecule is intended fortherapeutic purposes and antibody effector functions are not required,e.g. for simply blocking IL-17 activity. It will be appreciated thatsequence variants of these constant region domains may also be used. Forexample IgG4 molecules in which the serine at position 241 has beenchanged to proline as described in Angal et al., Molecular Immunology,1993, 30 (1), 105-108 may be used. Particularly preferred is the IgG1constant domain. It will also be understood by one skilled in the artthat antibodies may undergo a variety of posttranslationalmodifications. The type and extent of these modifications often dependson the host cell line used to express the antibody as well as theculture conditions. Such modifications may include variations inglycosylation, methionine oxidation, diketopiperazine formation,aspartate isomerization and asparagine deamidation. A frequentmodification is the loss of a carboxy-terminal basic residue (such aslysine or arginine) due to the action of carboxypeptidases (as describedin Harris, R J. Journal of Chromatography 705:129-134, 1995).Accordingly, the C-terminal lysine of the antibody heavy chain, forexample as given in FIG. 2 (a), SEQ ID NO: 15, may be absent.

In one embodiment the antibody heavy chain comprises a CH1 domain andthe antibody light chain comprises a CL domain, either kappa or lambda.

In a preferred embodiment the antibody provided by the present inventionis a neutralising antibody having specificity for human IL-17A and humanIL-17F in which the heavy chain constant region comprises the human IgG1constant region. Accordingly, the present invention provides an antibodyin which the heavy chain comprises or consists of the sequence given inSEQ ID NO:15 (See FIG. 2 a).

In one embodiment of the invention, the antibody comprises a heavychain, wherein the heavy chain comprises a sequence having at least 60%identity or similarity to the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:15.Preferably, the antibody comprises a heavy chain, wherein the heavychain comprises a sequence having at least 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%,98% or 99% identity or similarity to the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:15

In one embodiment an antibody molecule according to the presentinvention comprises a light chain comprising the sequence given in SEQID NO:11 (See FIG. 1 d).

In one embodiment of the invention, the antibody comprises a lightchain, wherein the light chain comprises a sequence having at least 60%identity or similarity to the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:11.Preferably, the antibody comprises a light chain, wherein the lightchain comprises a sequence having at least 70%, 80%, 90%, 95% or 98%identity or similarity to the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:11.

In one embodiment the present invention provides an antibody in whichthe heavy chain comprises or consists of the sequence given in SEQ IDNO:15 and the light chain comprises or consists of the sequence given inSEQ ID NO:11.

In one embodiment of the invention, the antibody comprises a heavy chainand a light chain, wherein the heavy chain comprises a sequence havingat least 60% identity or similarity to the sequence given in SEQ IDNO:15 and the light chain comprises a sequence having at least 60%identity or similarity to the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:11.Preferably, the antibody comprises a heavy chain, wherein the heavychain comprises a sequence having at least 70%, 80%, 90%, 95% or 98%identity or similarity to the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:15 and a lightchain, wherein the light chain comprises a sequence having at least 70%,80%, 90%, 95% or 98% identity or similarity to the sequence given in SEQID NO:11.

The antibody molecule of any aspect of the present invention preferablyhas a high binding affinity, preferably picomolar. It will beappreciated that the binding affinity of an antibody according to thepresent invention for human IL-17A may be different from the bindingaffinity of the same antibody for human IL-17F and/or the IL-17A/Fheterodimer. In one example the antibody molecule of the presentinvention has an affinity for IL-17A that is greater than its affinityfor IL-17F. In one example the antibody molecule of the presentinvention has an affinity for IL-17A which is at least 5 fold greaterthan its binding affinity for IL-17F. In one example the antibodymolecule of the present invention has an affinity for IL-17A that is thesame as its affinity for IL-17F. In one example the antibody molecule ofthe present invention has a picomolar affinity for both IL-17A andIL-17F.

Affinity may be measured using any suitable method known in the art,including BIAcore™, as described in the Examples herein, using isolatednatural or recombinant IL-17A and IL-17F which both exist as homodimers.

Preferably the antibody molecule of the present invention has a bindingaffinity for IL-17A of 50 pM or less. In one embodiment the antibodymolecule of the present invention has a binding affinity for IL-17A of20 pM or less. In one embodiment the antibody molecule of the presentinvention has a binding affinity for IL-17A of 10 pM or less. In oneembodiment the antibody molecule of the present invention has a bindingaffinity for IL-17A of 5 pM or less. In one embodiment the antibody ofthe present invention has an affinity for IL-17A of 3.2 pM.

Preferably the antibody molecule of the present invention has a bindingaffinity for IL-17F of 100 pM or less. In one embodiment the antibody ofthe present invention has an affinity for IL-17F of 50 pM or less. Inone embodiment the antibody of the present invention has an affinity forIL-17F of 23 pM.

It will be appreciated that the affinity of antibodies provided by thepresent invention may be altered using any suitable method known in theart. The present invention therefore also relates to variants of theantibody molecules of the present invention, which have an improvedaffinity for IL-17A and/or IL-17F. Such variants can be obtained by anumber of affinity maturation protocols including mutating the CDRs(Yang et al., J. Mol. Biol., 254, 392-403, 1995), chain shuffling (Markset al., Bio/Technology, 10, 779-783, 1992), use of mutator strains of E.coli (Low et al., J. Mol. Biol., 250, 359-368, 1996), DNA shuffling(Patten et al., Curr. Opin. Biotechnol., 8, 724-733, 1997), phagedisplay (Thompson et al., J. Mol. Biol., 256, 77-88, 1996) and sexualPCR (Crameri et al., Nature, 391, 288-291, 1998). Vaughan et al. (supra)discusses these methods of affinity maturation.

If desired an antibody for use in the present invention may beconjugated to one or more effector molecule(s). It will be appreciatedthat the effector molecule may comprise a single effector molecule ortwo or more such molecules so linked as to form a single moiety that canbe attached to the antibodies of the present invention. Where it isdesired to obtain an antibody fragment linked to an effector molecule,this may be prepared by standard chemical or recombinant DNA proceduresin which the antibody fragment is linked either directly or via acoupling agent to the effector molecule. Techniques for conjugating sucheffector molecules to antibodies are well known in the art (see,Hellstrom et al., Controlled Drug Delivery, 2nd Ed., Robinson et al.,eds., 1987, pp. 623-53; Thorpe et al., 1982, Immunol. Rev., 62:119-58and Dubowchik et al., 1999, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 83, 67-123).Particular chemical procedures include, for example, those described inWO 93/06231, WO 92/22583, WO 89/00195, WO 89/01476 and WO03031581.Alternatively, where the effector molecule is a protein or polypeptidethe linkage may be achieved using recombinant DNA procedures, forexample as described in WO 86/01533 and EP0392745.

The term effector molecule as used herein includes, for example,antineoplastic agents, drugs, toxins, biologically active proteins, forexample enzymes, other antibody or antibody fragments, synthetic ornaturally occurring polymers, nucleic acids and fragments thereof e.g.DNA, RNA and fragments thereof, radionuclides, particularly radioiodide,radioisotopes, chelated metals, nanoparticles and reporter groups suchas fluorescent compounds or compounds which may be detected by NMR orESR spectroscopy.

Examples of effector molecules may include cytotoxins or cytotoxicagents including any agent that is detrimental to (e.g. kills) cells.Examples include combrestatins, dolastatins, epothilones, staurosporin,maytansinoids, spongistatins, rhizoxin, halichondrins, roridins,hemiasterlins, taxol, cytochalasin B, gramicidin D, ethidium bromide,emetine, mitomycin, etoposide, tenoposide, vincristine, vinblastine,colchicin, doxorubicin, daunorubicin, dihydroxy anthracin dione,mitoxantrone, mithramycin, actinomycin D, 1-dehydrotestosterone,glucocorticoids, procaine, tetracaine, lidocaine, propranolol, andpuromycin and analogs or homologs thereof.

Effector molecules also include, but are not limited to, antimetabolites(e.g. methotrexate, 6-mercaptopurine, 6-thioguanine, cytarabine,5-fluorouracil decarbazine), alkylating agents (e.g. mechlorethamine,thioepa chlorambucil, melphalan, carmustine (BSNU) and lomustine (CCNU),cyclothosphamide, busulfan, dibromomannitol, streptozotocin, mitomycinC, and cis-dichlorodiamine platinum (II) (DDP) cisplatin),anthracyclines (e.g. daunorubicin (formerly daunomycin) anddoxorubicin), antibiotics (e.g. dactinomycin (formerly actinomycin),bleomycin, mithramycin, anthramycin (AMC), calicheamicins orduocarmycins), and anti-mitotic agents (e.g. vincristine andvinblastine).

Other effector molecules may include chelated radionuclides such as¹¹¹In and ⁹⁰Y, Lu¹⁷⁷, Bismuth²¹³, Californium²⁵², Iridium¹⁹² andTungsten¹⁸⁸/Rhenium¹⁸⁸; or drugs such as but not limited to,alkylphosphocholines, topoisomerase I inhibitors, taxoids and suramin.

Other effector molecules include proteins, peptides and enzymes. Enzymesof interest include, but are not limited to, proteolytic enzymes,hydrolases, lyases, isomerases, transferases. Proteins, polypeptides andpeptides of interest include, but are not limited to, immunoglobulins,toxins such as abrin, ricin A, pseudomonas exotoxin, or diphtheriatoxin, a protein such as insulin, tumour necrosis factor, α-interferon,β-interferon, nerve growth factor, platelet derived growth factor ortissue plasminogen activator, a thrombotic agent or an anti-angiogenicagent, e.g. angiostatin or endostatin, or, a biological responsemodifier such as a lymphokine, interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-2(IL-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6), granulocyte macrophage colony stimulatingfactor (GM-CSF), granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), nervegrowth factor (NGF) or other growth factor and immunoglobulins.

Other effector molecules may include detectable substances useful forexample in diagnosis. Examples of detectable substances include variousenzymes, prosthetic groups, fluorescent materials, luminescentmaterials, bioluminescent materials, radioactive nuclides, positronemitting metals (for use in positron emission tomography), andnonradioactive paramagnetic metal ions. See generally U.S. Pat. No.4,741,900 for metal ions which can be conjugated to antibodies for useas diagnostics. Suitable enzymes include horseradish peroxidase,alkaline phosphatase, beta-galactosidase, or acetylcholinesterase;suitable prosthetic groups include streptavidin, avidin and biotin;suitable fluorescent materials include umbelliferone, fluorescein,fluorescein isothiocyanate, rhodamine, dichlorotriazinylaminefluorescein, dansyl chloride and phycoerythrin; suitable luminescentmaterials include luminol; suitable bioluminescent materials includeluciferase, luciferin, and aequorin; and suitable radioactive nuclidesinclude ¹²⁵I, ¹³¹I, ¹¹¹In and ⁹⁹Tc.

In one example PEG is attached to a cysteine in the hinge region. In oneexample, a PEG modified Fab fragment has a maleimide group covalentlylinked to a single thiol group in a modified hinge region. A lysineresidue may be covalently linked to the maleimide group and to each ofthe amine groups on the lysine residue may be attached amethoxypoly(ethyleneglycol) polymer having a molecular weight ofapproximately 20,000 Da. The total molecular weight of the PEG attachedto the Fab fragment may therefore be approximately 40,000 Da.

In one embodiment, the present invention provides a neutralisingantibody molecule having specificity for human IL-17A and human IL-17F,which is a modified Fab fragment having a heavy chain comprising thesequence given in SEQ ID NO:9 and a light chain comprising the sequencegiven in SEQ ID NO:7 and having at the C-terminal end of its heavy chaina modified hinge region containing at least one cysteine residue towhich an effector molecule is attached. Preferably the effector moleculeis PEG and is attached using the methods described in (WO98/25971 andWO2004072116) whereby a lysyl-maleimide group is attached to thecysteine residue at the C-terminal end of the heavy chain, and eachamino group of the lysyl residue has covalently linked to it amethoxypoly(ethyleneglycol) residue having a molecular weight of about20,000 Da. The total molecular weight of the PEG attached to theantibody is therefore approximately 40,000 Da.

In another example effector molecules may be attached to antibodyfragments using the methods described in International patentapplications WO2005/003169, WO2005/003170 and WO2005/003171.

The present invention also provides an isolated DNA sequence encodingthe heavy and/or light chain(s) of an antibody molecule of the presentinvention. Preferably, the DNA sequence encodes the heavy or the lightchain of an antibody molecule of the present invention. The DNA sequenceof the present invention may comprise synthetic DNA, for instanceproduced by chemical processing, cDNA, genomic DNA or any combinationthereof.

DNA sequences which encode an antibody molecule of the present inventioncan be obtained by methods well known to those skilled in the art. Forexample, DNA sequences coding for part or all of the antibody heavy andlight chains may be synthesised as desired from the determined DNAsequences or on the basis of the corresponding amino acid sequences.

DNA coding for acceptor framework sequences is widely available to thoseskilled in the art and can be readily synthesised on the basis of theirknown amino acid sequences.

Standard techniques of molecular biology may be used to prepare DNAsequences coding for the antibody molecule of the present invention.Desired DNA sequences may be synthesised completely or in part usingoligonucleotide synthesis techniques. Site-directed mutagenesis andpolymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques may be used as appropriate.

Examples of suitable sequences are provided in SEQ ID NO:8; SEQ IDNO:10; SEQ ID NO:13; SEQ ID NO:14; SEQ ID NO:17, SEQ ID NO:18 and SEQ IDNO:19.

The present invention also relates to a cloning or expression vectorcomprising one or more DNA sequences of the present invention.Accordingly, provided is a cloning or expression vector comprising oneor more DNA sequences encoding an antibody of the present invention.Preferably, the cloning or expression vector comprises two DNAsequences, encoding the light chain and the heavy chain of the antibodymolecule of the present invention, respectively along with suitablesignal sequences. Preferably, a vector according to the presentinvention comprises the sequences given in SEQ ID NO:14 and SEQ IDNO:18. In one embodiment a vector according to the present inventioncomprises the sequences given in SEQ ID NO:13 and SEQ ID NO:17.

General methods by which the vectors may be constructed, transfectionmethods and culture methods are well known to those skilled in the art.In this respect, reference is made to “Current Protocols in MolecularBiology”, 1999, F. M. Ausubel (ed), Wiley Interscience, New York and theManiatis Manual produced by Cold Spring Harbor Publishing.

Also provided is a host cell comprising one or more cloning orexpression vectors comprising one or more DNA sequences encoding anantibody of the present invention. Any suitable host cell/vector systemmay be used for expression of the DNA sequences encoding the antibodymolecule of the present invention. Bacterial, for example E. coli, andother microbial systems may be used or eukaryotic, for examplemammalian, host cell expression systems may also be used. Suitablemammalian host cells include CHO, myeloma or hybridoma cells.

The present invention also provides a process for the production of anantibody molecule according to the present invention comprisingculturing a host cell containing a vector of the present invention underconditions suitable for leading to expression of protein from DNAencoding the antibody molecule of the present invention, and isolatingthe antibody molecule.

The antibody molecule may comprise only a heavy or light chainpolypeptide, in which case only a heavy chain or light chain polypeptidecoding sequence needs to be used to transfect the host cells. Forproduction of products comprising both heavy and light chains, the cellline may be transfected with two vectors, a first vector encoding alight chain polypeptide and a second vector encoding a heavy chainpolypeptide. Alternatively, a single vector may be used, the vectorincluding sequences encoding light chain and heavy chain polypeptides.

As the antibodies of the present invention are useful in the treatmentand/or prophylaxis of a pathological condition, the present inventionalso provides a pharmaceutical or diagnostic composition comprising anantibody molecule of the present invention in combination with one ormore of a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient, diluent or carrier.Accordingly, provided is the use of an antibody according to the presentinvention for the manufacture of a medicament. The composition willusually be supplied as part of a sterile, pharmaceutical compositionthat will normally include a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. Apharmaceutical composition of the present invention may additionallycomprise a pharmaceutically-acceptable adjuvant.

The present invention also provides a process for preparation of apharmaceutical or diagnostic composition comprising adding and mixingthe antibody molecule of the present invention together with one or moreof a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient, diluent or carrier.

The antibody molecule may be the sole active ingredient in thepharmaceutical or diagnostic composition or may be accompanied by otheractive ingredients including other antibody ingredients, for exampleanti-TNF, anti-IL-1β, anti-T cell, anti-IFNγ or anti-LPS antibodies, ornon-antibody ingredients such as xanthines or a small moleculeinhibitor.

The pharmaceutical compositions preferably comprise a therapeuticallyeffective amount of the antibody of the invention. The term“therapeutically effective amount” as used herein refers to an amount ofa therapeutic agent needed to treat, ameliorate or prevent a targeteddisease or condition, or to exhibit a detectable therapeutic orpreventative effect. For any antibody, the therapeutically effectiveamount can be estimated initially either in cell culture assays or inanimal models, usually in rodents, rabbits, dogs, pigs or primates. Theanimal model may also be used to determine the appropriate concentrationrange and route of administration. Such information can then be used todetermine useful doses and routes for administration in humans.

The precise therapeutically effective amount for a human subject willdepend upon the severity of the disease state, the general health of thesubject, the age, weight and gender of the subject, diet, time andfrequency of administration, drug combination(s), reaction sensitivitiesand tolerance/response to therapy. This amount can be determined byroutine experimentation and is within the judgement of the clinician.Generally, a therapeutically effective amount will be from 0.01 mg/kg to50 mg/kg, preferably 0.1 mg/kg to 20 mg/kg. Pharmaceutical compositionsmay be conveniently presented in unit dose forms containing apredetermined amount of an active agent of the invention per dose.

Compositions may be administered individually to a patient or may beadministered in combination (e.g. simultaneously, sequentially orseparately) with other agents, drugs or hormones.

The dose at which the antibody molecule of the present invention isadministered depends on the nature of the condition to be treated, theextent of the inflammation present and on whether the antibody moleculeis being used prophylactically or to treat an existing condition.

The frequency of dose will depend on the half-life of the antibodymolecule and the duration of its effect. If the antibody molecule has ashort half-life (e.g. 2 to 10 hours) it may be necessary to give one ormore doses per day. Alternatively, if the antibody molecule has a longhalf life (e.g. 2 to 15 days) it may only be necessary to give a dosageonce per day, once per week or even once every 1 or 2 months.

The pharmaceutically acceptable carrier should not itself induce theproduction of antibodies harmful to the individual receiving thecomposition and should not be toxic. Suitable carriers may be large,slowly metabolised macromolecules such as proteins, polypeptides,liposomes, polysaccharides, polylactic acids, polyglycolic acids,polymeric amino acids, amino acid copolymers and inactive virusparticles.

Pharmaceutically acceptable salts can be used, for example mineral acidsalts, such as hydrochlorides, hydrobromides, phosphates and sulphates,or salts of organic acids, such as acetates, propionates, malonates andbenzoates.

Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers in therapeutic compositions mayadditionally contain liquids such as water, saline, glycerol andethanol. Additionally, auxiliary substances, such as wetting oremulsifying agents or pH buffering substances, may be present in suchcompositions. Such carriers enable the pharmaceutical compositions to beformulated as tablets, pills, dragees, capsules, liquids, gels, syrups,slurries and suspensions, for ingestion by the patient.

Preferred forms for administration include forms suitable for parenteraladministration, e.g. by injection or infusion, for example by bolusinjection or continuous infusion. Where the product is for injection orinfusion, it may take the form of a suspension, solution or emulsion inan oily or aqueous vehicle and it may contain formulatory agents, suchas suspending, preservative, stabilising and/or dispersing agents.Alternatively, the antibody molecule may be in dry form, forreconstitution before use with an appropriate sterile liquid.

Once formulated, the compositions of the invention can be administereddirectly to the subject. The subjects to be treated can be animals.However, it is preferred that the compositions are adapted foradministration to human subjects.

The pharmaceutical compositions of this invention may be administered byany number of routes including, but not limited to, oral, intravenous,intramuscular, intra-arterial, intramedullary, intrathecal,intraventricular, transdermal, transcutaneous (for example, see WO98/20734), subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, intranasal, enteral, topical,sublingual, intravaginal or rectal routes. Hyposprays may also be usedto administer the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention.Typically, the therapeutic compositions may be prepared as injectables,either as liquid solutions or suspensions. Solid forms suitable forsolution in, or suspension in, liquid vehicles prior to injection mayalso be prepared.

Direct delivery of the compositions will generally be accomplished byinjection, subcutaneously, intraperitoneally, intravenously orintramuscularly, or delivered to the interstitial space of a tissue. Thecompositions can also be administered into a lesion. Dosage treatmentmay be a single dose schedule or a multiple dose schedule.

It will be appreciated that the active ingredient in the compositionwill be an antibody molecule. As such, it will be susceptible todegradation in the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, if the composition isto be administered by a route using the gastrointestinal tract, thecomposition will need to contain agents which protect the antibody fromdegradation but which release the antibody once it has been absorbedfrom the gastrointestinal tract.

A thorough discussion of pharmaceutically acceptable carriers isavailable in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences (Mack PublishingCompany, N.J. 1991).

In one embodiment the formulation is provided as a formulation fortopical administrations including inhalation.

Suitable inhalable preparations include inhalable powders, meteringaerosols containing propellant gases or inhalable solutions free frompropellant gases. Inhalable powders according to the disclosurecontaining the active substance may consist solely of the abovementionedactive substances or of a mixture of the abovementioned activesubstances with physiologically acceptable excipient.

These inhalable powders may include monosaccharides (e.g. glucose orarabinose), disaccharides (e.g. lactose, saccharose, maltose), oligo-and polysaccharides (e.g. dextranes), polyalcohols (e.g. sorbitol,mannitol, xylitol), salts (e.g. sodium chloride, calcium carbonate) ormixtures of these with one another. Mono- or disaccharides are suitablyused, the use of lactose or glucose, particularly but not exclusively inthe form of their hydrates.

Particles for deposition in the lung require a particle size less than10 microns, such as 1-9 microns for example from 0.1 to 5 μm, inparticular from 1 to 5 μm. The particle size of the active ingredient(such as the antibody or fragment) is of primary importance.

The propellent gases which can be used to prepare the inhalable aerosolsare known in the art. Suitable propellent gases are selected from amonghydrocarbons such as n-propane, n-butane or isobutane andhalohydrocarbons such as chlorinated and/or fluorinated derivatives ofmethane, ethane, propane, butane, cyclopropane or cyclobutane. Theabovementioned propellent gases may be used on their own or in mixturesthereof.

Particularly suitable propellent gases are halogenated alkanederivatives selected from among TG 11, TG 12, TG 134a and TG227. Of theabovementioned halogenated hydrocarbons, TG134a(1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane) and TG227 (1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane)and mixtures thereof are particularly suitable.

The propellent-gas-containing inhalable aerosols may also contain otheringredients such as cosolvents, stabilisers, surface-active agents(surfactants), antioxidants, lubricants and means for adjusting the pH.All these ingredients are known in the art.

The propellant-gas-containing inhalable aerosols according to theinvention may contain up to 5% by weight of active substance. Aerosolsaccording to the invention contain, for example, 0.002 to 5% by weight,0.01 to 3% by weight, 0.015 to 2% by weight, 0.1 to 2% by weight, 0.5 to2% by weight or 0.5 to 1% by weight of active ingredient.

Alternatively topical administrations to the lung may also be byadministration of a liquid solution or suspension formulation, forexample employing a device such as a nebulizer, for example, a nebulizerconnected to a compressor (e.g., the Pari LC-Jet Plus(R) nebulizerconnected to a Pari Master(R) compressor manufactured by PariRespiratory Equipment, Inc., Richmond, Va.).

The antibody of the invention can be delivered dispersed in a solvent,e.g., in the form of a solution or a suspension. It can be suspended inan appropriate physiological solution, e.g., saline or otherpharmacologically acceptable solvent or a buffered solution. Bufferedsolutions known in the art may contain 0.05 mg to 0.15 mg disodiumedetate, 8.0 mg to 9.0 mg NaC1, 0.15 mg to 0.25 mg polysorbate, 0.25 mgto 0.30 mg anhydrous citric acid, and 0.45 mg to 0.55 mg sodium citrateper 1 ml of water so as to achieve a pH of about 4.0 to 5.0. Asuspension can employ, for example, lyophilised antibody.

The therapeutic suspensions or solution formulations can also containone or more excipients. Excipients are well known in the art and includebuffers (e.g., citrate buffer, phosphate buffer, acetate buffer andbicarbonate buffer), amino acids, urea, alcohols, ascorbic acid,phospholipids, proteins (e.g., serum albumin), EDTA, sodium chloride,liposomes, mannitol, sorbitol, and glycerol. Solutions or suspensionscan be encapsulated in liposomes or biodegradable microspheres. Theformulation will generally be provided in a substantially sterile formemploying sterile manufacture processes.

This may include production and sterilization by filtration of thebuffered solvent/solution used for the formulation, aseptic suspensionof the antibody in the sterile buffered solvent solution, and dispensingof the formulation into sterile receptacles by methods familiar to thoseof ordinary skill in the art.

Nebulizable formulation according to the present disclosure may beprovided, for example, as single dose units (e.g., sealed plasticcontainers or vials) packed in foil envelopes. Each vial contains a unitdose in a volume, e.g., 2 mL, of solvent/solutionbuffer.

The antibodies disclosed herein may be suitable for delivery vianebulisation. It is also envisaged that the antibody of the presentinvention may be administered by use of gene therapy. In order toachieve this, DNA sequences encoding the heavy and light chains of theantibody molecule under the control of appropriate DNA components areintroduced into a patient such that the antibody chains are expressedfrom the DNA sequences and assembled in situ.

The present invention also provides an antibody molecule for use in thecontrol of inflammatory diseases. Preferably, the antibody molecule canbe used to reduce the inflammatory process or to prevent theinflammatory process.

The present invention also provides the antibody molecule of the presentinvention for use in the treatment or prophylaxis of a pathologicaldisorder that is mediated by IL-17A and/or IL-17F or is associated withan increased level of IL-17A and/or IL-17F. Preferably, the pathologicalcondition is selected from the group consisting of infections (viral,bacterial, fungal and parasitic), endotoxic shock associated withinfection, arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis,systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), systemic lupuserythematosus (SLE), asthma, chronic obstructive airways disease (COAD),chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute lung injury, pelvicinflammatory disease, Alzheimer's Disease, Crohn's disease, inflammatorybowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Ulcerative colitis, Castleman'sdisease, ankylosing spondylitis and other spondyloarthropathies,dermatomyositis, myocarditis, uveitis, exophthalmos, autoimmunethyroiditis, Peyronie's Disease, coeliac disease, gallbladder disease,Pilonidal disease, peritonitis, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis,vasculitis, surgical adhesions, stroke, autoimmune diabetes, Type IDiabetes, lyme arthritis, meningoencephalitis, immune mediatedinflammatory disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system suchas multiple sclerosis and Guillain-Barr syndrome, other autoimmunedisorders, pancreatitis, trauma (surgery), graft-versus-host disease,transplant rejection, fibrosing disorders including pulmonary fibrosis,liver fibrosis, renal fibrosis, scleroderma or systemic sclerosis,cancer (both solid tumours such as melanomas, hepatoblastomas, sarcomas,squamous cell carcinomas, transitional cell cancers, ovarian cancers andhematologic malignancies and in particular acute myelogenous leukaemia,chronic myelogenous leukemia, chronic lymphatic leukemia, gastric cancerand colon cancer), heart disease including ischaemic diseases such asmyocardial infarction as well as atherosclerosis, intravascularcoagulation, bone resorption, osteoporosis, periodontitis andhypochlorhydia.

In one embodiment the antibody of the present invention is used in thetreatment or prophylaxis of a pathological disorder selected from thegroup consisting of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis,psoriatic arthritis, systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA),systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), asthma, chronic obstructive airwaydisease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, atopic dermatitis,scleroderma, systemic sclerosis, lung fibrosis, inflammatory boweldiseases, ankylosing spondylitis and other spondyloarthropathies andcancer.

In one embodiment the antibody of the present invention is used in thetreatment or prophylaxis of a pathological disorder selected from thegroup consisting of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis,psoriatic arthritis, systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA),systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), asthma, chronic obstructive airwaydisease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, atopic dermatitis,scleroderma, systemic sclerosis, lung fibrosis, Crohn's disease,ulcerative colitis, ankylosing spondylitis and otherspondyloarthropathies and cancer.

In one embodiment the antibody of the present invention is used in thetreatment or prophylaxis of a pathological disorder selected from thegroup consisting of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis,psoriatic arthritis, systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA),systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), asthma, chronic obstructive airwaydisease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, atopic dermatitis,scleroderma, systemic sclerosis, lung fibrosis, Crohn's disease,ulcerative colitis, ankylosing spondylitis and otherspondyloarthropathies.

In one embodiment the pathological disorder is rheumatoid arthritis.

In one embodiment the pathological disorder is Crohn's disease.

In one embodiment the pathological disorder is ulcerative colitis.

In one example the antibody of the present invention is used in thetreatment of an inflammatory or immune related disease. In one examplethe inflammatory or immune related disease is selected from the groupconsisting of rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerativecolitis.

The present invention also provides an antibody molecule according tothe present invention for use in the treatment or prophylaxis of pain,particularly pain associated with inflammation.

The present invention further provides the use of an antibody moleculeaccording to the present invention in the manufacture of a medicamentfor the treatment or prophylaxis of a pathological disorder that ismediated by IL-17A and/or IL-17F or associated with an increased levelof IL-17A and/or IL-17F. Preferably the pathological disorder is one ofthe medical indications described herein above. The present inventionfurther provides the use of an antibody molecule according to thepresent invention in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatmentor prophylaxis of pain, particularly pain associated with inflammation.

An antibody molecule of the present invention may be utilised in anytherapy where it is desired to reduce the effects of IL-17A and/orIL-17F in the human or animal body. IL-17 A and/or IL-17F may becirculating in the body or may be present in an undesirably high levellocalised at a particular site in the body, for example a site ofinflammation.

An antibody molecule according to the present invention is preferablyused for the control of inflammatory disease, autoimmune disease orcancer.

The present invention also provides a method of treating human or animalsubjects suffering from or at risk of a disorder mediated by IL-17Aand/or IL-17F, the method comprising administering to the subject aneffective amount of an antibody molecule of the present invention.

An antibody molecule according to the present invention may also be usedin diagnosis, for example in the in vivo diagnosis and imaging ofdisease states involving IL-17A and/or IL-17F.

The present invention is further described by way of illustration onlyin the following examples, which refer to the accompanying Figures, inwhich:

FIG. 1

a) Light chain V region of antibody CA028_(—)0496g3 (SEQ ID NO:7)

b) Heavy chain V region of antibody CA028_(—)0496g3 (SEQ ID NO:9)

c) CDRH1 (SEQ ID NO:1), CDRH2 (SEQ ID NO:2), CDRH3 (SEQ ID NO:3), CDRL1(SEQ ID NO:4), CDRL2 (SEQ ID NO:5), CDRL3 (SEQ ID NO:6) of antibodyCA028_(—)496g3.

d) Light chain of antibody CA028_(—)496g3 (SEQ ID NO:11).

e) Light chain of antibody CA028_(—)496g3 including signal sequence (SEQID NO:12).

FIG. 2

a) Heavy chain of antibody CA028_(—)496g3 (SEQ ID NO:15).

b) Heavy chain of antibody CA028_(—)496g3 including signal sequence (SEQID NO:16).

c) DNA encoding light chain of antibody CA028_(—)496g3 (no signalsequence) (SEQ ID NO:13).

FIG. 3

a) DNA encoding light chain of antibody CA028_(—)496g3 including signalsequence (SEQ ID NO:14)

b) DNA encoding light chain variable region of antibody CA028_(—)496g3(SEQ ID NO:8)

c) DNA encoding heavy chain variable region of antibody CA028_(—)496g3including signal sequence (SEQ ID NO:10)

FIG. 4: DNA (including exons) encoding heavy chain of antibodyCA028_(—)496g3 without signal sequence (SEQ ID NO:17)

FIG. 5: DNA (including exons and signal sequence) encoding heavy chainof antibody CA028_(—)496g3 (SEQ ID NO:18)

FIG. 6: c DNA encoding heavy chain of antibody CA028_(—)496g3 includingsignal sequence (SEQ ID NO:19).

FIG. 7: The effect of antibodies CA028_(—)0496 (designated 496g1 inlegend) and CA028_(—)00496.g3 (designated 496.g3 in legend) on humanIL-17F induced IL-6 production from Hela cells.

EXAMPLE 1 Production of an Improved Neutralising Antibody which BindsIL-17A and IL-17F

The isolation and humanisation of antibody CA028_(—)0496 has previouslybeen described in WO2008/047134. CA028_(—)0496 is a humanisedneutralising antibody which binds both IL-17A and IL-17F and comprisesthe grafted variable regions gL7 and gH9, the sequences of which areprovided in WO2008/047134. The heavy chain acceptor framework is thehuman germline sequence VH3 1-3 3-07 with framework 4 coming from thisportion of the human JH-region germline JH4. The light chain acceptorframework is the human germline sequence VK1 2-1-(1) L4, with framework4 coming from this portion of the human JK-region germline JK1.

Antibody CA028_(—)00496 was affinity matured to improve the affinity ofthe antibody for IL-17F whilst retaining affinity for IL-17A. Incontrast to antibody CA028_(—)00496, the affinity matured antibody,known as CA028_(—)00496.g3, was expressed as an IgG1 rather than anIgG4. Genes were modified to generate the affinity matured versions byoligonucleotide directed mutagenesis. The affinity matured light chainvariable region (gL57) gene sequence was sub-cloned into the UCBCelltech human light chain expression vector pKH10.1, which contains DNAencoding the human C-Kappa constant region (Km3 allotype). The unalteredheavy chain variable region (gH9) sequence was sub-cloned into the UCBCelltech expression vector pVhg1 FL, which contains DNA encoding humanheavy chain gamma-1 constant regions. Plasmids were co-transfected intoCHO cells using the Lipofectamine™ 2000 procedure according tomanufacturer's instructions (InVitrogen, catalogue No. 11668).

The final sequence of the affinity matured variable regions of antibodyCA028_(—)00496.g3 are given in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b. In antibodyCA028_(—)00496.g3 the heavy chain variable region sequence is the sameas that of the parent antibody CA028_(—)00496. In contrast, the lightchain variable region differs by 5 amino acids. The five residues thatdiffer between the light chain of antibody CA028_(—)00496 and antibodyCA028_(—)00496.g3 are underlined in FIG. 1 a.

EXAMPLE 2 Biacore

As described below, the assay format was capture of the antibodyCA028_(—)00496.g3 by an immobilised anti-human IgG Fc-specific antibody,followed by titration of human IL-17A and human IL-17F over the capturedsurface.

Biamolecular Interaction Analysis was performed using a Biacore 3000(Biacore AB). Assays were performed at 25° C. Affinipure F(ab′)₂fragment goat anti-human IgG Fc specific (Jackson ImmunoResearch) wasimmobilised on a CM5 Sensor Chip (Biacore AB) via amine couplingchemistry to a level of approximately 6000 response units (RU). HBS-EPbuffer (10 mM HEPES pH7.4, 0.15M NaCl, 3 mM EDTA, 0.005% Surfactant P20,Biacore AB) was used as the running buffer with a flow rate of 10μL/minute (min). A 10 μL injection of CA028_(—)00496.g3 at 0.5 μg/mL wasused for capture by the immobilised anti-human IgG Fc. Human IL-17A(generated in house by UCB) was titrated over the capturedCA028_(—)00496.g3 from 5 nM at a flow rate of 30 μL/min for 3 minfollowed by a 20 min dissociation. Human IL-17F (R&D systems) wastitrated over the captured CA028_(—)00496.g3 from 10 nM at a flow rateof 30 μL/min for 3 min followed by a 5 min dissociation. The surface wasregenerated at a flow rate of 10 μL/min by a 10 μL injection of 40 mMHC1 followed by a 5 μL injection of 5 mM NaOH.

TABLE 1 Affinity of CA028_496.g3 against human IL-17F and IL-17A k_(a)(M⁻¹s⁻¹) k_(d) (s⁻¹) K_(D) (M) KD (pM) hIL-17F 2.49E+06 8.74E−053.51E−11 35 3.49E+06 5.08E−05 1.46E−11 15 2.99E+06 6.91E−05 2.31E−11 23hIL-17A 4.66E+06 2.04E−05 4.38E−12 4.4 4.52E+06 8.66E−06 1.92E−12 1.94.59E+06 1.45E−05 3.17E−12 3.2

Double referenced background subtracted binding curves were analysedusing the BIAevaluation software (version 4.1) following standardprocedures. Kinetic parameters were determined from the fittingalgorithm. Data are detailed in Table 1, average values are highlightedin grey.

The affinity value determined for the original antibody CA028_(—)0496binding IL-17A was 16 pM and 1750 pM for IL-17F. In contrast, theimproved antibody CA028_(—)0496 g3 has an affinity for IL-17A of 3.2 pMand for IL-17F of 23 pM. The affinity of antibody CA028_(—)0496 forIL-17F was improved over 70 fold without reducing the affinity of theantibody for IL-17A. Infact, affinity for IL-17A was increased fivefold.

The affinity of CA028_(—)0496 g3 was also improved for IL-17A/Fheterodimer (made as described in WO2008/047134) where affinity wasfound to be 26 pM (data not shown).

EXAMPLE 3

The potency of CA028_(—)00496.g1 (previously described in WO2008/047134)and CA028_(—)00496.g3 for the neutralisation of human IL-17F wasdetermined using a HeLa cell bioassay. Hela cells were obtained from thecell bank at ATCC (ATCC CCL-2). Cells were grown in Dulbecco's modifiedEagle's medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% foetal calf serum,penicillin, gentamycin and glutamine. 1×10⁴ cells were plated out into96 well flat bottomed tissue culture plates. Cells were incubatedovernight and washed once in assay buffer. HeLa cells were stimulatedwith a combination of recombinant human IL-17F (125 ng/m1) and tumournecrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) (ing/nil) for 48 hours in the presence ofvarying concentrations of the antibodies. In the HeLa cell line, IL-17Fsynergises with TNF-alpha to induce the production of IL-6 which can bequantified using a specific MSD assay kit. The resulting amount ofsecreted IL-6 was measured using Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) assaytechnology and IC50 values calculated. CA028_(—)00496.g1 andCA028_(—)00496.g3 showed dose-dependent inhibition of the bioactivity ofIL-17F as measured in the HeLa cell bioassay (FIG. 7). The activity ofCA028_(—)00496.g1 and CA028_(—)00496.g3 in the HeLa assay was expressedas the dose required to inhibit 50% of the activity of IL-17F (IC₅₀).The IC₅₀ for CA028_(—)00496.g1 is 92 mg/mL and for CAO 496.g3 is 4ng/mL.

The ability of CA028_(—)00496.g3 to neutralise IL-17A, as describedpreviously for CA028_(—)00496.g1 in WO2008/047134, was confirmed usingthe same assay in which IL-17F was replaced with IL-17A (data notshown).

The complete content of all publications, patents and patentapplications cited herein are hereby in their entireties.

The foregoing invention has been described by way of illustration andexample. The above examples are provided for exemplification purposesonly and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It willbe readily apparent to one skilled in the art in light of the teachingsof this invention that changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An isolated DNA encoding the heavy chain variabledomain and the light chain variable domain of a neutralising antibodywhich binds human IL-17A and human IL-17F, wherein the heavy chainvariable domain comprises the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:9 and thelight chain variable domain comprises the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:7,or encoding the heavy chain and the light chain of said antibody,wherein the heavy chain comprises the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:15 andthe light chain comprises the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:
 11. 2. Acloning or expression vector comprising the DNA according to claim
 1. 3.The vector according to claim 2 wherein the DNA comprises the sequencesgiven in SEQ ID NO:13 and SEQ ID NO:17.
 4. A cultured host cellcomprising one or more cloning or expression vectors according to claim2 or claim
 3. 5. An isolated DNA encoding the light chain variabledomain of a neutralising antibody which binds human IL-17A and humanIL-17F, wherein the variable domain of the light chain comprises thesequence given in SEQ ID NO:7.
 6. A cloning or expression vectorcomprising the DNA according to claim
 5. 7. The vector according toclaim 6, wherein the DNA comprises the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:13.8. A cultured host cell comprising one or more cloning or expressionvectors according to claim 6 or claim
 7. 9. A process for the productionof an antibody that binds human IL-17A and human IL-17F, and is encodedby a DNA comprising the sequences of SEQ ID NO:13 and 17, comprisingculturing a host cell comprising an expression vector comprising saidDNA under conditions suitable for expression of the antibody andisolating the antibody.